TD Ameritrade is one of the largest online brokerage platforms in the United States. It offers a wide range of investment products and services, including stocks, mutual funds, ETFs, options, futures, margin trading, cryptocurrencies, bonds, IPOs and forex. It also has powerful tools and resources for research and education. In this TD Ameritrade review, we'll take a look at all the different aspects of their business to see if they're a good fit for you.
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Features, Tools & Platforms
TD Ameritrade offers different trading tiers to its users and upon creating an account with TD Ameritrade you get to choose a platform to match your skill level. The platforms offered on TD Ameritrade are:
- The web platform which is the classic TD Ameritrade for beginners or users who don't need access to advanced trading tools. It offers all of the fundamentals such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, options and ETF trading. Among other features such as news streams and watch lists.
- The thinkorswim platform provides experienced traders a place to invest in forex, futures, futures options and trade-able securities. On the platform you can use advanced charting tools like data charting and many more but it can become an overwhelming experience with so many available features.
- The paperMoney platform allows beginners to use a trading simulator to practice their trading abilities before investing real cash. You will be given $100,000USD in virtual cash to spend as you like. It's completely free for TD Ameritrade customers but is only available for 60 days for non-users.
If you are interested in learning more about the available tools and platforms on TD Ameritrade, we recommend visiting its Tools & Platforms page.
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What investment products are offered on TD Ameritrade?
TD Ameritrade has a diverse and long list of available investments products. It provides access to a variety of online trading and investment options including:
- Stocks
- Options
- Mutual funds
- ETFs
- Cryptocurrencies
- Bonds
- Futures
- Commodities
- IPOs
- Bitcoin futures
- Foreign exchange
- OTCBB
For further details about what kind of asset is offered in each asset class, you can visit TD Ameritrades Investment Products page.
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TD Ameritrade Account Types
TD Ameritrade empowers its users with its extensive list of account types. Not only does TD Ameritrade offer standard account types like individual and joint taxable accounts, users can also open custodial accounts, 529 accounts, education savings accounts, trusts and partnership accounts, standard traditional and Roth IRA accounts, pension and profit sharing accounts and business retirement accounts: SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA and the solo 401(k).
To simplify it, the account types offered on TD Ameritrade will fall under one of the four categories listed on its platform: Standard account, Retirement account, Education account and Specialty account.
Fees & Pricing
When it comes to fees, TD Ameritrade offer some of the lowest in the country. The biggest advantage TD Ameritrade has on other brokers is that it offers competitively low fees like 0% commissions on stocks, currencies and ETFs. There are however some fees that TD Ameritrade does charge, you can refer to the list below for a breakdown of its fees.
Trading Fees
- OTCBB trades cost a commission of $6.95 per transaction.
- Per-contract commissions on options trades are $0.65.
- Options contracts over 50 cost $32.50.
- Covered call trade of 500 shares plus five contracts costs $3.25.
- Mutual fund commissions for funds cost $49.99.
- Margin interest ranges from 10% for a $10,000 balance to 8.5% for a balance of more than $100,000.
Deposit & Administration Fees
- Depositing funds via a wire transfer costs $25.
- Depositing funds via a paper check is free there is a $15 fee if the user requests overnight mail.
- Voluntary reorganization fee for corporate actions is $38.
- Automated phone trades are $5 per trade not call.
You can find a full breakdown of all the fees charged on TD Ameritrade via its Fees Schedule.
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TD Ameritrade Deposit Methods
Investors can fund their TD Ameritrade accounts via five deposit methods. The most common funding method is Electronic Bank Deposit (ACH), it only takes 5 minutes to complete and you can deposit between $50 - $250,000.
The other supported deposit methods are Wire Transfer which takes 1 business day to complete and there is no deposit limit, depositing via check which also had no deposit limits but can take up to three business days to reflect in your account, transferring funds from another firm which also has no deposit limit and takes about a week to arrive and by physical stock certificates which have no deposit limit and take one business day to deposit.
Does TD Ameritrade have 24/7 live support?
Yes, TD Ameritrade offers 24/7 support via its Live Chat feature, email and telephone helpline. Users can speak to live support on any of the TD Ameritrade platforms and apps. In addition to the suuport features directly on the platform, there are multiple online communities that TD Ameritrade can be found on. You can contact its support team on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, WeChat and Apple Chat.
TD Ameritrade users can also talk to a live broker, but fees may apply depending on the topic and reason of call. A majority of the reps staffing TD’s trading desk were either former professional traders and market makers or were trained by some. Users can are also allowed to speak with TD Ameritrade financial advisors.
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Is TD Ameritrade a secure platform
TD Ameritrade uses a number of security procedures to ensure clients safety including advamced firewalls, anomaly detection and intrusion detection technology and 128-bit encryption for all data transmissions. TD Ameritrade is listed with the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). This means that under the SIPC regulations, securities in an investor’s account are insured for $500,000, which includes a $250,000 limit for cash.
Final Thoughts
TD Ameritrade is the leading online broker in the United States and offers users multiple platforms that can be tailored to their preferences. It is a great platform for both beginners and veteran traders. TD Ameritrade offers products to cover all major investment needs and it manages to do it very well. It charges no commission on trading in shares, exchange traded funds, and options.
Its users can use an exhaustive list of free options for help, which include free investment and portfolio management advice, investment guides, quality research, investment briefs, and a variety of no-transaction-fee mutual funds to select from.
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